Abstract: Objective  To  investigate the effect of nicorandil on cardiac function and exercise tolerance in patients with nonSTelevation myocardial infarction(NSTEMI) after elective percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI).Methods  Totally  80 patients with NSTEMI were randomly assigned to two groups: control group and nicorandil group， 40 cases in each group.The left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF)，left ventricular enddiastolic diameter (LVEDD)，6 min walking distance(6MWD)，New York Heart Association classification (NYHA classification)  of heart function  and major adversecardiac events (MACEs)  were calculated. Patients were followed up for six months.Results  There were no significant difference in baseline evaluation indexes of heart function characteristics between two groups(P>0.05). After six months， LVEF was significantly increased， LVEDD decreased significantly， NYHA classification was significantly improved in nicorandil group (P<0.05). In control group， LVEF and NYHA classification were significantly improved(P<0.05)，  but LVEDD was significantly increased  as  compared with baseline (P<0.05).Patients were followed up for six months. The LVEF， LVEDD， 6MWD  and  NYHA classification of two groups were statistically significant (P<0.05)， and the  occurrence of  MACEs in nicorandil  group  was significantly  lower  than that in control  group (10.0% vs 26.7%，P<0.05).Conclusion  Nicorandil  can improve heart function，  increase exercise capacity  and reduce the incidence of MACE in patients with NSTEMI after elective PCI.

Key words: myocardial infarction；angioplasty, balloon, coronary ；ventricular function；nicorandil